DIY Hives

[tudor bees]

Hi iam going to start making Hives, Nucs.They will be mabe out of Marine Ply.
So what should i stain the outside them with???. The floors will be open mesh with a removable Correx, could this be made from Kilm dryed soft wood,i can get the wooden parts of the floor Pressure Treated, but not shore if this is ok
ANY HELP ON THIS

 

[VEG]

Screw some battens onto the floor then after the rot they can be replaced. Any type of exterior paint will work. As you are using ply just make sure the ends are covered well. I use ducks back paint on my nucs and hives.

 

[fatshark]

My marine ply boxes are already getting tatty at the edges and exposed corners, despite liberally rubbing in exterior glue to these regions. These are four to five years old. In comparison Th0rnes second quality cedar are looking fine. My advice would be to buy these (about £15 for a brood box in the sales) as it will save you in the long term. They're also a whole lot lighter to move and stack.

However, if you go with ply then follow the advice from VEG re. battens. I make floors from pressure treated decking wood (handrails?) which is pretty much indestructible.

Fencecoat is good and comes in some reasonably restrained colours.

 

[biglongdarren]

i was at a neighbours apiary yesterday and he had a hive that his son made for him when he was at school,his son is now in his late 40's,the hive was made out of what looks like white wood was coated with burnt oil and is still as good as the day it was made, i very very impressed.
Darren

 

[protheroe]

one coat fence paint is pretty good and garden shades is excellent, though rather expensive.make sure you seal all the edges with exterior glue or they will split in no time.

 

[pargyle]

Hi iam going to start making Hives, Nucs.They will be mabe out of Marine Ply.
So what should i stain the outside them with???. The floors will be open mesh with a removable Correx, could this be made from Kilm dryed soft wood,i can get the wooden parts of the floor Pressure Treated, but not shore if this is ok
ANY HELP ON THIS

If you can put softwood lippings on the cut edges of the marine ply with the softwood rebated to the depth of the thickness of the ply then, after painting, your ply panels will last a long time .. it's moisture ingress through the cut edges of the grain that causes delamination and failure. Glue on the cut ends will help and paint but it will fail relatively quickly in a damp climate.

 

[REDWOOD]

i was at a neighbours apiary yesterday and he had a hive that his son made for him when he was at school,his son is now in his late 40's,the hive was made out of what looks like white wood was coated with burnt oil and is still as good as the day it was made, i very very impressed.
Darren

What do you "call burnt oil" is it pine oil that they used to extract from pine wood by super heating it ?

 

[Peterxix]

Hi iam going to start making Hives, Nucs.They will be mabe out of Marine Ply.
So what should i stain the outside them with???. The floors will be open mesh with a removable Correx, could this be made from Kilm dryed soft wood,i can get the wooden parts of the floor Pressure Treated, but not shore if this is ok
ANY HELP ON THIS

I have made my hives out of Marine Ply, and I have gave them 3 Coates of mixed Linseed oil and Bees wax inside and outside,

 

[oliver90owner]

I have made my hives out of Marine Ply, and I have gave them 3 Coates of mixed Linseed oil and Bees wax inside and outside,

That, unfortunately tells us little about them other than the basic facts. How long ago? Condition after that period would be helpful information

Some of mine, made of cedar, and with no treatments for ten years or more, are still perfectly functional.

 

[biglongdarren]

What do you "call burnt oil" is it pine oil that they used to extract from pine wood by super heating it ?

hey i am pretty sure it was old engine oil from a car he used.

Darren.

 

[VEG]

old engine oil is carcinogenic isnt it?

 

[itma]

old engine oil is carcinogenic isnt it?

Its as nasty as real creosote. Which is what hive boxes used to be soaked in... ... mind you, they didn't rot!

 

[madasafish]

Old engine oil kills plants and insects. And does no good to water courses...

 

[REDWOOD]

The old engine oil is great for preserving wooden fences and automatic transmission fluid is even better but caution to the wind when thinking of using it on a wooden hive. There has been cases of dermatitis and skin cancer when in prolong contact with skin

 

[Rimis]

Hello,

Can someone tell me measurements (centimetres) of the national hives?

Thank You.

 

[Little John]

Hello,

Can someone tell me measurements (centimetres) of the national hives?

Thank You.

Best source for this info (and just about everything else !), is:
http://www.dave-cushman.net/bee/nat.html

LJ

 

[blackcavebees]

hey i am pretty sure it was old engine oil from a car he used.

Darren.

Used to be a standard job years ago round here Darren, one guy mixed the old engine oil half and half with old creosote and painted his hives for he said after a year outside they had coloured to the point where they were almost invisible up on the heather. I painted a ranch style fence made from old packing cases at the back of my dad's house with it in 1982. It hasn't been treated since and it still hasn't rotted. Don't know if I would want to paint it on the hives though?

 

[madasafish]

Used to be a standard job years ago round here Darren, one guy mixed the old engine oil half and half with old creosote and painted his hives for he said after a year outside they had coloured to the point where they were almost invisible up on the heather. I painted a ranch style fence made from old packing cases at the back of my dad's house with it in 1982. It hasn't been treated since and it still hasn't rotted. Don't know if I would want to paint it on the hives though?

We moved into our current house then and I painted the wooden fencing at the end of our garden with engine oil.
Still there, still not rotten...
(I did repaint it 5 years ago tho')